Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698929717359.pdf (Namibia)
Hon.

Lucia Witbooi, MP: 2016/17 National Budget Contribution 8 March 2016 Hon.

Speaker, Hon.

Members) On the budget before us today, allow me to first and foremost commend the ~inister of Finance and that of National Planning Commisslon.

the Consultants and their team for drafting this important piece of legislation and for being innovative in identifying some areas on which policies are to be made to curb possible threat to our economy.
The consensus ~mong fair and right thinking Namibia~s that the 20 16/17-.Budget isa positive proof that many of th'e government's key policies were and continueX to be successful, and are bearing fruits.

/ The budget before us-..Jis also a testimony of our government's commitment to fiscal prudence.

The fiscal consolidation plan and tax reform measures announced in the budget speech w,ft.f.e game changers for the country.
~ Indeed so, Honourable_\peaker, Namibia is measurably better off today than it was 25 years ago, even much better 5 years ago, and more:.3a year ago such that even a blind person can attest to that.

Thanks to the targeted fiscal intervention~h(?ugh the variousJi,udgets since the ( r-, birth of our beautifull~epublic.

Government cwvJ.. "'..... continues to allocate funds where ·"- it~L-t is neede<3!most in line with the pressing matters of the day.
In ~-~ this manner, the Minister should be commended for upholding the Governments inclusive growth agenda A ~ via~his Jiudget speech.

At the centre of this budget in, {t;Y'.,£L J is a consolidated pro-growth dimension.

The funding strategies (') proposed in thisffiudget are the right ingredients that Namibia needs to achieve the optimal recipe that will be able to help government respond to the structural challenges that affect¥' the development potentials.

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Hon./Members, / I'\.


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:" bUdgetsN mGnY"\ I , Recognising the importance of governments undertook to incorporate "a , gender perspective into the design, development, adoption and execution of all budgetary processes as appropriate in order to promote equitable, effective and appropriate resource allocatio~ and establish adequate budgetary allocations to support gender equality and development programmes that enhance women's empowerment"l!fi~< .....---------- 'outlined in the Beijing Platform for Action: ...-/ \ j\:, \ \ \ : ,..1\ i j / j / / ~ / A. s~ Parlam~~t,;~ c0t:.n ry.s mos represen a Ive Ins I u Ion, I/l./GU,./' t t· .
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V I' ~ t vJV CU~t I 't J. kV'~'7"b~~~~p~o~o \ f-- play in the budgetary process.

It iswithin our mandate to scrutinise and evaluate budget proposals to ensure that they adequately reflect the / /government's implementation of its commitment to / \// gender mainstreaming.

To this end, I call all members to critically aim at seeking a deeper appreciation of the policy measures proposed in the 2016 National Budget.
Honourable Speaker, J ItI~, YYLGVY~~M1 ./ i1;~ From the above mentioned remarks, ins clear important to scrutinise this budget , itrfli - !C~ from a gender that - perspective.

You may wish to ask, Why is examining the budget from a gender perspective so important?

The budget is by far the most important legislative act that any parliament adopts in the course of the year, because /it involves the taxation of the people, using the taxpayers' money for the good of the people.
It is extremely important, as you all know that the people's elected representatives have an opportunity to debate that and to / influence that policy, so that it truly reflects the wishesof all the people.

Hon.

Members} / The budget is of course about figure:; but it is foremost about people and their needs and who, better than us (Members), the people's elected representatives, know what the people's needs are and can make sure that they are well reflected in thejudget.
If we are concerned, as we are, about the people's needs, we must be concerned with making sure that the budget is gender sensitive because the budget does not, in any country, affect men and women, boys and girls in the same fashion.

If a gender balanced environment is not achieved, / L..K-~j .

poverty lJJ f fl the country becomes a breeding ground for , , {).1' .

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··v / ./ "Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn't commit.

.. Namibians cannot continue to be punished for the crime they didn't commit and that1s why government's efforts to eradicate this social evil must be supported by all peace loving Namibian\, '-" In this regards, the government should to be commended for its steadfast focus on social wellbeing of its citizeiiince government declared war on pover~ substantial e,.ffie)tfFIT- ~f.
funds have been rightfully allocated to the social sector.

Thisis in recognition of the fact that unless the poor masses , ft' }{AI-' 'i' .~ V}Vj)·...& L:J: iV, A ;tL.

{U '-./ (,~i"' are lifted out of poverty, there can never be a\"NAMIBIAN HOUSE" On the pillars of social welfare development, / is education, health care and social safety nets.

On this front, I note with great interest the N$16.2 Billion allocated to Education.
This allocation has the potential to enhance access to tertiary education by expanding funding opportunities for students, and most importantly support 1nnovation, ....- Research and)evelopment.

I urge Namibians to take advantage of the government's endeavour to enable every Namibian child to have free access to quality education.

The government isto be commended on the achievements it has made on the fight against social inequality in Namibia.
As part of the fight against this evil, I commend government for increasing Old Age Pension by an additional N$l 00.00 to N$l, 100.00 per month.
What1s even more exiting and encouraging is the fact that government have already made provisions for an additional N$lOO.OO per month in the next bUdgt.t;14 <, Gover~mentco~tTu~~ setitselfnew targ~,n linewith t~e , c (" emerging tren,%~encei;~e">~=- s:t~jdnot be statld~n This budget before us is expected to move/ln line with some .. ' {; "r«: r>: a.Ju2./ targets ~s; A new target of of these targets.
Amongst the noteworthy - -- - 165,000)JOO?out of 300 000 orphans to be placed on grant system by 2018/2019; A new target of 500 out of 956 634 children (Census, 2011) to be placed in -rc;ster (are by 2018/2019 based on the Child and Core Protection Act (CCPA)ActnO.3 of2015;e;;;t;m~iL~f~I~o~;~r~~~) in- PoV~, ~l;t of 956 634 childrer;( ~~ li~n~r CG yU (Census,20 11) by 2018/20 19i J is set.

Itfs important for us to ',j I~ these targets are met by aligning the I rnoke sure that J§Udget to them.
r; Honourable \~peaker, !1livl ' ../ , { ,i I , ( 0 ~ 9, OJijt-"/ J J The way forward is clear CL YOcu{ .. ) for us, but we know that it will also '\ be}~umpy.

ou~udget should toke into consideratio~0( the ever changing challenges.

Firstly,the daily accidents on our roads continue to leave many families shattered with no hope of a better tomorrow.

The bread winners are stolen from these families leaving huge vacuums with no one to feel the vacuum.
I believe that somewhere in our budgeting process we can find space and ensure th~t the pain brought by these roads accidents is avoided.\~ecOndIY, the escalating cost of living, as measured by thk inflation rate, dictates that social grants be adjusted and linked to, these developments.
The latest inflation figures, 5.3 % (January 2016) is t~~oin~ Thisfigures simply says, every grants that Government provides has lost 5.3% of its buying <">, \ ~\ ~ power and therefo,) requires that \t regularly be adjusted, to reflect the realities of the day-\\Thirdly, gender based violence remains a thorn in bur flesh.

Budgetary requirements need to be beefed and aligned)so it can better respond to thissocial evil.

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5?~Ujt~) Hon~embers H P'vv \ Let me conclude by stating that the budget before us isa true representation of our people's need and must thereforE) be supported and endorsed as a true reflection of what our people really nee9K Therefore, I encourage each one of us to focus our enerqies on giving solutions \ rather than fault-findin?
; so as to guarantee through the oversight, representational and legislative mandate, we as / Parliamentarians have a role to play in making 2016 a fear of economic growth and success.

I encourage all members to ensure that this particular ~Udget and the budgets ahead, incorporate a gender , .J equality dimension into the budgeting process and the policies that underpin i~ in order to promote equality between women and men.

WITH THI~ I SUPPORT THE BILL. )

I thank you